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Getting to grips with mystery space bugs

By Anil Ananthaswamy

DANGEROUS mutants on the bridge are not merely the stuff of Star Trek. On long space flights, normally harmless bacteria could mutate in unforeseen ways and threaten the crew’s health or the life-support systems. So NASA is developing a “gene chip” to identify such menacing microbes en route.

Most bacteria found on spacecraft have been carried aboard by the crew. On extended missions, the crew will have to grow plants and recycle waste, water and air, providing unique ecological niches in which the bugs could flourish. On Earth, species that cause disease or other problems tend to …